How to Stop Incessant Wi-Fi Network Prompts on Your iPad

The Select a Wireless Network dialog is a handy convenience if you’re not sure whether a Wi-Fi network is available. However, as you move around town, you may find that this dialog pops up all over the place as new Wi-Fi networks come within range. One solution is to wear your finger down to the bone with all of the constant tapping of the Cancel button, but there’s a better way: just tell your iPad or iPad mini to shut up already with the Wi-Fi prompting. Here’s how:

On the Home screen, tap Settings. The Settings screen appears.

Tap Wi-Fi. The Wi-Fi screen appears.

Tap the Ask to Join Networks switch to the Off position, as shown in this figure. Your tablet no longer prompts you with nearby networks. Whew!

Toggle the Ask to Join Networks switch to Off to put a gag on network prompts.

If you are no longer seeing the prompts, how do you connect to a Wi-Fi network if you don’t even know it’s there? That’s a good question, and here’s a good answer:

On the Home screen, tap Settings to open the Settings app.

Tap Wi-Fi. The Wi-Fi Networks screen appears and the Choose a Network list shows you the available Wi-Fi networks.

Tap the network you want to use. If the network is protected by a password, your iPad or iPad mini prompts you to type it.

Use the keyboard to type the password.

Tap Join. The tablet connects to the network and adds the Wi-Fi network signal strength icon to the status bar.